High Court Rules Against Education Money Petition

By Jerry Bohnen, NewsRadio 1000 KTOK ~ More than a year after the Oklahoma School Board Association launched a legal challenge to a petition drive affecting how much money would be spent on teachers, the Oklahoma Supreme court today struck down the petition pushed by a group called First Class Education.

The justices, in a 5-4 ruling, said the wording of the petition insufficiently explained its purpose and possible impact.

Tulsa oilman and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Sullivan was an honorary chairman of the Oklahoma portion of the national effort. The petition called for the expenditure of 65% of public education funds to be on teachers in the classroom and not for administrators. Sullivan was the first to sign the petition in Oklahoma. But by August of 2006, the State School Board Association filed suit in the State Supreme court. It claimed the First Class Education for Oklahoma petition violated a requirement for a single subject.

The lawsuit angered Sullivan: "This is the height of arrogance by the Oklahoma School Board Association and makes the point why Oklahoma needs the 65% goal immediately," he said in a statement issued after the filing of the lawsuit. He accused the School Board Association of using money that was supposed to be spent educating children, on lawyers filing frivolous lawsuits.

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